Adrien laid in his room, thinking about the day. The villain had been defeated, but it was harder, not having Ladybug at his side. He'd checked on her after the fight and she was gone. She probably detransformed and limped somewhere safe. Hopefully.

His thoughts drifted to Marinette. He felt bad, seeing her in pain like she'd been. Though, her side was a strange place to be sore, after working in the gym. Just.. the one side. He sat up, and the gears began turning in his brain. That was the same side Ladybug had gotten hurt. Wasn't it?

He stood and paced his room as he was thinking. Could Marinette be Ladybug? Sure, she was a sweet girl, but.. she was quiet. And awkward. How could she be Ladybug?

Plagg sat on the dresser, watching Adrien pace. He sat in the middle of a plate, greedily devouring chunks and wedges of cheese.

"Hey, cool it with the pacing, huh? You're making me dizzy." He said, shoving another piece of cheese into his mouth.

"I can't do that, Plagg. I'm thinking." He said.

"What's so important, Adrien?" Adrien stopped and looked over at the small kwami, then shook his head.

"Never mind. It's nothing." He said.

He laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling, and closed his eyes. He pictured Ladybug's face. The gently curves of her cheeks and her jaw, her small but pink lips, and her eyes, blue as the sky on the clearest day in Paris. A smile drifted across his lips, and he turned onto his side and hugged his pillow close, and buried his face in the top. Soon, he was asleep, on top of the covers, and still dressed for the day, but he was dreaming of Ladybug.

The days were getting easier for Marinette. Her side hurt less and less each day, ever since Chat had saved her. She wasn't limping anymore, and she could breath normal now. She was even back to her squealing and happy demeanor with Alya, though, that was partly to keep her suspicions at bay.

However... she noticed something strange. Adrien was catching her eye- a lot. He would stare at her sometimes, which made Chloe absolutely fume. He gave her nervous smiles, and he seemed like he was gonna say something, or tell her something, but never got to it.

Her suspicions grew when he actually came to visit her. She was working in her parent's bakery, handing out treats from behind the counter, when Adrien walked in. She gasped and jumped into the back, biting her lip and hiding for a moment, before being pushed back out by her parents. He gave her a nervous smile, and a bright blush arose in her cheeks.

"Hey, Marinette." He said, and she froze for a second.

"H-hey, Adrien.." She said, gulping back a squeal.

"Um... could.. I ask you a favor?"

"Sure! What do you need?"

"Wh- uh, what?"

"The.. favor?" Marinette said, relaxing slightly. Long conversations with him got easier as they went along, but that didn't mean she wasn't still nervous each time a new one arose.

"Oh! Uh... could you.. help me with my homework?" He asked. Marinette blinked, and then tilted her head a little.

"Don't... dont you have tutors for that?"

"Well... i-it's easier to have a student do the homework with me. You know, since you were in class with me.. and.. all. Yeah. " he blushed and straightened, waiting for an answer.

"Um.. sure. Where are your school things?" She asked, looking over the counter.

"I...uh... forgot them?" He said, laughing awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck. Marinette giggled and blushed.

"Go get them, and then come upstairs. I'll leave my hatch open for you." She said, then she went upstairs to get ready for Adrien. Once she was in her room, the full meaning of the conversation hit her, and she gasped and almost tripped over her own feet.

"Oh my god, Tikki! Adrien is coming over to work on homework- HIDE THE PICTURES OH MY GOD!" She said, carefully tearing down her many pictures of Adrien on her walls. Tikki flew around and helped.

"I have to call Alya- can you handle this?"

"Yes! Go!" Tikki said, and Marinette went to her , calling Alya on her phone. It rang, and Alya answered after two rings.

"Marinette? What's up?" She asked, then pushed her phone away from her face as Marinette began to scream into the phone.

"ALYA! ADRIEN IS! COMING OVER! AND! DOING HOMEWORK! HES GONNA BE IN MY ROOM ALYA WHAT DO I DOOOO?" She half wailed, half squealed. Alya smirked and shook her head.

"Just play it cool! Bring up some snacks, set up a good environment to work, and relax.. and hide all your adrien pictures."

"Already done!"

"Good! Now, go on and have a good time! Try to focus on the homework, if you can." Alya said. "And, Marinette? You'll do fine. Now, go get the model!"

"Thanks, Alya."

Marinette hung up the phone and leaned against the railing on her balcony. She looked out at the city, and a small smile graced her face. A soft breeze blew, pushing her hair back gently. She smiled as she remembered all her adventures with Chat Noir. As she gazed over the city, she thought about the past few days. When she'd passed out, she'd been going in and out. She remembered how he held her close when he ran, and she remembered he said something to her, but that was it. She frowned and sighed, looking down. It wasn't that she didn't like Chat. He was kind, and he clearly cared about her. But he was also arrogant, and he got distracted easily. She let out a soft sigh, thinking about the fight that got her hurt. Her hand drifted to her side, and she remembered how scared Chat had been. Why was he always so worried about her? Was there-

"Marinette?" A voice called from behind her, causing her to jump.

"Ah! O-oh, h-hey, Adrien.." She said, turning and looking at him. He smiled at her and she blushed darkly. "Just, um, go settle in, and i'll bring us up some snacks." She said, smiling a bit.

Adrien nodded and set his bag on her couch, and he walked out to the balcony, looking around. Marinette had a great view of the city from here. He smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets, letting his hips jut out. He looked around, and smiled at the view. It was a good place to think. No people, a little bit of city noise, but that was good. Silence when you needed to think could be, ironically, deafening. He looked around as Plagg flew up from his backpack and sat on the railing.

"Why did you really come here?" He asked, laying around lazily.

"I just... wanted to talk to her. " He said, looking down and closing his eyes.

"About Ladybug?" Plagg asked, eyeing him suspiciously. "That sounds like it'll work." He said, rolling his eyes.

"No, just-"

"Adrien! Are you ready?" Marinette called, looking out at him. Adrien jumped and turned, looking at her.

"U-uh, yeah! Let's, uh, let's get started." He said.

He put his hands behind his back and opened his palm for Plagg, then hid him by his side as he walked to his backpack. He opened it, then slid Plagg inside, the pulled out his maths binder. He sat next to Marinette at her desk, and picked up a croissant from the plate she brought up. Marinette looked nervous as he sat next to her, but she smiled nervously at him, and she soon seemed to calm down.

"Alright, so... The math lesson today was, uh..."

"Sequences." Marinette said, smiling at him.

"Yeah, right." He said. He looked at her, and he felt himself smile a little.

"Okay, so, here's what you do.." She told him, looking at their first problem.

She explained how the problem went, and they went through the rest of the afternoon working on the homework. As they worked, they were scooting closer and closer to each other. They were almost touching heads by the time they finished their homework. They smiled at each other, and blushed brightly.

Suddenly, the hatch door burst open, and they bumped foreheads. Marinette's mother stood, smiling with her head poking out from the hatch door.

"Oh, am I interrupting? I just wanted to bring up a new plate of snacks, I thought you might be hungry.."

"Bah, mom! We just finished, we don't need more food." She said, blushing brightly. Adrien looked at her with a little pout, then at the plate full of cookies. Her mom disappeared, then Adrien looked down sadly.

"Well, I guess if we're done with homework.." He looked at the clock, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "ooh.. uh, my ride wont be here for another half hour. This took less time than I thought." He said, laughing nervously. Marinette blushed and nodded.

"You can wait here, don't worry." She said, spinning back and forth in her chair. There was an awkward silence for about a minute, until Adrien spoke up.

"So, uh, how's your side?" He asked her. Marinette looked at him, surprised.

"Uh, I... huh?" She asked, looking at him.

"You said you overdid it at the gym, remember?" He said. His heart fluttered as he spoke. Could she really be ladybug?

"O-oh.. yeah. Sorry, I forgot I told you." She said, giggling nervously. Internally, her heart raced. Is that really what she told him? Had she told him it was her side? He couldn't know.. could he?

"Ah, I see. I;m glad you're doing better." He told her, smiling. Though, inside, he was confused. He just wanted to say something, or just plain ask her. But.. he couldn't. Just thinking about it.. it made his mouth dry. He was scared. He didn't really know her that well. Maybe that's what he should do. Get to know her. Talk to her. Befriend her. Then he could tell her. Yeah, do that! The plan was perfect! He would get closer to her, then one night, he would either let her watch him detransform, or transform for her.

"Adrien?" Marinette asked. He snapped out of his reverie, then looked at her.

"O-oh! Sorry... I was deep in thought about something." He said, laughing nervously.

"What were you thinking about?" She asked, scooting closer to him.

"Ladybug." He said without thinking. His face reddened, and he looked up at her. "I, uh... I mean.. I was thinking about her, because I know she got hurt in a fight, and we haven't seen much of her since then. I'm worried about her." He said with a little laugh. "I know, that's weird, but.."

"N-no, I understand. I'm worried too. She's important to the city, and Her not being here.. Sometimes I wonder if Chat can handle all that on his own. They've been together for years, working as a team.. and sure, they work independently sometimes, but... never for this long. I'm worried about Chat, too." She said. She didn't know that was how she felt about the situation until she said it. She blushed a little and looked out the window at the setting sun behind Adrien. The sun cast a soft glow, and it shined around him like heavenly light sending down an angel. She smiled dreamily, and then snapped out of it as he moved to stand up and walk around the room.

"You seem like a big fan of Chat Noir and Ladybug." He said, looking at her.

"Well... yes. I am. Kinda have to be, what with Alya running the ladyblog, am I right?" She said with a little laugh.

"I suppose so." He said. "Though.. I think you're right. Chat is doing good now, but he can't last much longer without Ladybug." He said, his smile fading as he looked out at the sunset. He sat on Marinette's couch, and put his elbows on his legs. "He must be worried about her. He can handle himself, but he seems to be having more trouble lately." He said, shaking his head.

Marinette took a deep breath, stood, and sat next to him on the couch, the both of them overlooking the city as the sun set. The tower reflected some light, causing it to shine. Marinette folded her hands on her lap, and glanced over at Adrien, who was also looking at her in the corner of his eye. They both blushed, and looked away. After a silent moment, Adrien spoke up.

"The city looks beautiful from here. You really have it good." He said, taking her hand gently. He didnt look at her, but he felt her stiffen next to him, and she didn't say anything. He let himself relax, and then smile, though it faded as a limo pulled up outside.

"I have to go.." He said softly. He stood, slowly releasing her hand, and he grabbed his backpack. He gave her a tentative smile, and waved goodbye at her. She waved awkwardly back, then fell back onto her couch.

Marinette was shell-shocked. Did he really hold her hand? Did any of that even happen? She felt like she was dreaming. She felt.. She felt... she didn't know how she felt. She didn't stutter, nor did she blurt out anything awful at him. They had stepped into dangerous territories, talking about Chat and Ladybug like that, but luckily, it didn't last.

Tikki flew out from the dresser, and she sat on Marinette's shoulder. The girl didn't even notice her, and Tikki jumped up and down, trying to get her attention.

"Mari! I can't believe it! You got so calm, and you didn't even reveal yourself, not even when you talked about yourself!" She said.

"I know.. I think once I focused on Math, it was less awkward, and then we got to talking and.. it.. was easy." She said, looking over at the small kwami. Tikki grinned and hugged her cheek.

"Good work, Mari! Now, you should probably eat and go to bed. You have to tell Alya all about this tomorrow!" She said. Marinette sat up and gasped.

"Alya! I do have to tell her!" She said.

She raced to her laptop and messaged her friend about everything, even the end, where they discussed Ladybug and Chat, and when he held her hand. They spoke in all caps, and got into a deep discussion about Adrien, which then turned into one about Ladybug. They spoke for so long, by the time that Marinette snapped out of it, it was dark, and she was being called down to dinner. She bid Alya goodnight, and as she walked downstairs, she though about how, for the first time in a few weeks, she was finally feeling okay. Emotionally, physically, and mentally. Maybe even good enough to fight.

WOW this chapter was MUCH longer than the others. I was so motivated by all your kind reviews, i just sat down and wrote this out in about two hours. I tried to make this chapter a little longer, and this one meets my usual standards much better than in the past, though that's also partially because i don't have weekend homework or practice.

I decided a little Adrienette couldn't hurt to be added. I had a lot of fun writing the last half. I like the internal conflict they both have with each other. I try to go by the show and what i see, and incorporate that as much as i can. Like how Marinette seems to become more comfortable with adrien the longer she spends with him, or when she also has something else to focus on. Someone in the reviews did ask why her lucky charm didn't heal her, and i do wanna answer. IT's because i've seen in the show, she doesnt use it every time at the end. And she only uses it to cleanse at the end if there is MAJOR damage to the city (like with the eiffle tower, when she snapped it on the mime). However, she didn't even get to use it against the enemy, and then she barely managed to cleanse the Akuma. So since she didn't use her lucky charm in the end, she wasn't healed. I hope that makes sense!

I also want to thank the immense amount of you all complimenting my writing. I am a writer, and i'm in the process of writing my own fictional novels, and if you would like to hear about them, PM me and i'll gladly tell you more! All the support and love makes me very happy. I love you all very much, and thank you for being so kind! Honestly, i wouldn't be here without you guys! I wanna make a heart, but this site hates hearts :c

Anyways, thank you so much, lovlies! There will be more stories coming up, and some will be Ladybug, and there will also be other fandoms! A few i know for sure are Steven universe (i have a good idea brewing for this one), Legend of Korra, and maybe this book im obsessed with called Red Rising (though that one is lower on the list).

Anyways, thank you all for reading my story! you all make me so happy, and you will not believe the sense of pride i felt, waking up to TWENTY SIX emails this morning, telling me about follows and favorites and reviews! Thank you, and bye for now, Lovlies~